Electronic and Film Theatrical Quality

1. A method for processing motion picture scene data through a motion picture intermediate process in which the scene data is initially acquired from a film or an electronic camera, wherein image losses potentially occur during later stages of the process, said method comprising the steps of: (a) representing the scene data in a non-linear space; and (b) compensating for the image losses associated with the later stages at a point in the process before they occur by converting the scene data into an intermediate space representing the space in which the losses occur and filtering the scene data in the intermediate space to compensate the scene data for the losses.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1 wherein the image losses potentially occur during distribution and projection stages of the process and the compensation performed in step (b) is done for losses associated with the distribution and projection stages.

3. A method for processing motion picture digital scene data through a process in which scene data is initially acquired from a film or an electronic camera and ultimately projected onto a screen, wherein image losses potentially occur during distribution and projection stages of the process, said method comprising the steps of: (a) using digital filtering of the digital scene data to pre-compensate for losses before they occur in distribution and projection; (b) digitally scaling the digital scene data anamorphically to provide an image that makes full use of the available film space on the film; and (c) projecting the image on the screen, thereby providing an enhanced image on the screen.

4. The method as claimed in claim 3 in which scene data is acquired from a film camera that exposes consecutive frames of the film and the digital scene data is acquired from a scanner that scans the consecutive frames of the film and the digital data is ultimately recorded back onto frames of film by a film recorder, said method further comprising the step of electronically removing unsteadiness in at least one of the film scanner, the camera and the recorder by digitally processing the image to remove motion between consecutive frames.

5. The method as claimed in claim 3 in which the digital scene data is reproduced on a film having an image-bearing emulsion and the film is projected on the screen in step (c) utilizing a projector having a projection lens, said method further including the step of digitally reversing the image before step (c) so that the film in the projector has its emulsion towards the projection lens.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5 in which scene data is acquired from a camera that exposes consecutive frames of the film and the digital scene data is acquired from a scanner that scans the consecutive frames of the film, said method further comprising the step of electronically removing unsteadiness in at least one of the film scanner and the camera by digitally processing the image to remove motion between consecutive frames.

7. The method as claimed in claim 3 wherein the digital scene data is transferred to a release print for projection, said method further comprising the step of recording multiple intermediate prints from the digital scene data and performing a single printing step to make each release print from an intermediate print.

8. The method as claimed in claim 3 further comprising the step of using motion compensated frame averaging to digitally remove noise.

9. The method as claimed in claim 4 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

10. The method as claimed in claim 5 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

11. The method as claimed in claim 6 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

12. The method as claimed in claim 7 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

13. The method as claimed in claim 8 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

14. A method for processing motion picture digital scene data through a process in which scene data is initially acquired from a film or an electronic camera and ultimately projected onto a screen, wherein image losses potentially occur at distribution and projection stages of the process and where the digital scene data is transferred to a release print for projection, said method comprising the steps of: (a) using digital filtering of the digital scene data to pre-compensate for losses before they occur in distribution and projection; (b) recording multiple intermediate prints from the digital scene data and performing a single printing step to make each release print from an intermediate print; and (c) projecting the release print on the screen, thereby providing an enhanced image on the screen.

15. The method as claimed in claim 14 further comprising the step of digitally scaling the digital scene data anamorphically to provide an image that makes full use of the available film space on the film during step (c).

16. The method as claimed in claim 14 further comprising the step of using motion compensated frame averaging to digitally remove noise.

17. The method as claimed in claim 14 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

18. The method as claimed in claim 15 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

19. The method as claimed in claim 16 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

20. A method for processing motion picture digital scene data through a process in which scene data is initially acquired from a film or an electronic camera and ultimately projected onto a screen, wherein image losses potentially occur at various stages in the process, including distribution and projection stages of the process, said method comprising the steps of: (a) using motion compensated frame averaging to digitally remove noise; (b) using digital filtering of the digital scene data to pre-compensate for losses before they occur in distribution and projection; and (c) projecting the image on the screen, thereby providing an enhanced image on the screen.

21. The method as claimed in claim 20 further comprising the step of digitally scaling the digital scene data anamorphically to provide an image that makes full use of the available film space on the film during step (c).

22. The method as claimed in claim 20 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

23. The method as claimed in claim 21 wherein the step (c) of projecting comprises the step of projecting using a projector with automatic focus.

24. A system for processing digital motion picture scene data initially acquired from a film or an electronic camera and ultimately projected onto a screen, wherein image losses potentially occur during distribution and projection of the scene data, said system comprising: (a) a digital filtering stage using digital filtering of the digital scene data to pre-compensate for losses before they occur in distribution and projection; (b) a digital scaling stage for digitally scaling the digital scene data anamorphically to provide an image that makes full use of the available film space on the film; and (c) a projector for projecting the image on the screen, thereby providing an enhanced image on the screen.

25. The system as claimed in claim 24 in which scene data is acquired from a film camera that exposes consecutive frames of the film and the digital scene data is acquired from a scanner that scans the consecutive frames of the film, said system further including a noise removal stage for electronically removing unsteadiness in at least one of the film scanner and the camera by digitally processing the image to remove motion between consecutive frames.

26. The system as claimed in claim 24 in which the digital scene data is reproduced on a film having an image-bearing emulsion and the film is projected on the screen utilizing a projector having a projection lens, said system further including a stage for digitally reversing the image so that the film in the projector may have its emulsion towards the projection lens.

27. The system as claimed in claim 24 wherein the digital scene data is transferred to a release print for projection, said system further comprising a recording stage for recording multiple intermediate prints from the digital scene data and performing a single printing step to make each release print from an intermediate print.

28. The system as claimed in claim 24 further including a noise removal stage using motion compensated frame averaging to digitally remove noise.

29. A system for processing motion picture digital scene data that is initially acquired from a film or an electronic camera and ultimately projected onto a screen, wherein image losses potentially occur at distribution and projection stages of the system and where the digital scene data is transferred to a release print for projection, said system comprising: (a) a filtering stage using digital filtering of the digital scene data to pre-compensate for losses before they occur in distribution and projection; (b) a recording stage for recording multiple intermediate prints from the digital scene data and performing a single printing step to make each release print from an intermediate print; and (c) a projector for projecting the release print on the screen, thereby providing an enhanced image on the screen.

30. The system as claimed in claim 29 further including a digital scaling stage for digitally scaling the digital scene data anamorphically to provide an image that makes full use of the available film space on the film during projection.

31. The system as claimed in claim 29 further comprising a noise removal stage using motion compensated frame averaging to digitally remove noise.

32. The system as claimed in claim 29 wherein the projector includes automatic focus.

33. A system for processing motion picture digital scene data which is initially acquired from a film or an electronic camera and ultimately projected onto a screen, wherein image losses potentially occur at various stages in the system, including distribution and projection stages of the system, said system comprising: (a) a noise removal stage using motion compensated frame averaging to digitally remove noise; (b) a filtering stage using digital filtering of the digital scene data to pre-compensate for losses before they occur in distribution and projection; and (c) a projector for projecting the image on the screen, thereby providing an enhanced image on the screen.

34. The system as claimed in claim 33 further including a scaling stage for digitally scaling the digital scene data anamorphically to provide an image that makes full use of the available film space on the film during projection.

35. The system as claimed in claim 33 wherein the projector includes automatic focus.